I was looking for a design-to-build firm in my area and found Liberty Hill Construction on Houzz. I did my research and received multiple quotes from competing firms but decided to move forward with Liberty Hill and I am glad I did. In summary the culture at Liberty Hill is customer first and this starts with the owner - Greg Rehm. The entire Liberty Hill team was a pleasure to work with. They have the upmost professionalism and most importantly on point with execution and quality. I am not someone who is easy to deal with but I know what I want and I have high expectations. The entire Liberty Hill team - from top to bottom - were able to work with me. They always checked with me, raised critical issues, and kept the project on point. Communication was excellent, I really appreciated the weekly status report, walk throughs, and the use of a tool called Builder Trend. With my hectic schedule this made it easy for me to communicate things like product selections and raise issues that needed attention. I always knew what was going on with the project. Another thing I really appreciated is that they hired top notch subs but always had Liberty Hill project managers and carpenters on site every day. This really put my mind at ease - stress free. In summary I give the entire Liberty Hill team two thumbs up - professional, accountable, reasonable, great communication, operational, high quality == exceeds expectations. I highly recommend this firm and would hire them for future projects.
To give you an overview of my experience;
My first encounter was with the owner Greg Rehm. What set Liberty apart was their impeccable focus on the customer. He came to me with sketches of similar projects within my price range and spent the time to brainstorm with me - offering many insightful suggestions. I had agreed to move to the next phase which was a pre-design process. This required a non-refundable but reasonable design fee.
From there I worked with Mark Fournier - their business development manager. Mark and I spent about 2-3 weeks refining the conceptual design, using a Liberty Hill contracted architect who provided CAD renderings for the concepts. At this point we were close enough to where both parties were comfortable moving forward within the budget we negotiated. On to the next phase - a signed and accepted contract.
What happened next is what truly exemplifies a customer first focused culture. Mark began working with Lisa, a second Architect who was more skilled and tasked with producing the actual construction drawings. Mark and Lisa collaborated on my project - understanding my budget and what I was conceptualizing - they made a number of significant changes to the already agreed upon concept. Mark was so excited he sent a text in the evening and sent new renderings to my smart phone. We got on the phone right away and talked through conceptual changes which included rotating the gable ends 90 degrees, adding an eyebrow over the garage, and cutting a 2nd floor hallway through to the main house. The changes addressed rain and snow fall that would impact entering the house and the 2nd floor hallway opened up the concept to relocate our laundry room off the hallway above the mudroom. All of these changes were within budget with the exception of the 2nd floor laundry but the cost was minimal and we made a few other minor changes to accommodate this. The final concept produced a seamless vision that the addition was part of the original house design. Mark demonstrated to me that he cared about the design as if it were his own house. This is what you can expect if you hire this firm.
Next up was production coordination with Pete Sapounas. Pete's task was to ensure all the subs were lined up, ordering all the material, product selections, communicating any field related changes between the design team and myself, coordinating and securing permits, ensuring compliance to code - including building codes, set backs, and utilities. Post production, Pete is also the person you deal with when you have warranty issues - for which so far have been minimal but when an issue does occur he is on it. Pete is the guy that keeps everything on point and moving - both from an execution and communication perspective. Pete also took a personal interest in my project as he is looking at a similar design for his own home. Two specific issues Pete helped me through was town code issues with egress on the windows and helping to resolve malfunctioning issues with a dryer vent booster I selected. Another thing both Pete and Mark helped me with was product selection for exterior trim and siding. Knowing that I wanted wood they recommended a very resilient but inexpensive cedar-like OSB lap siding that was fused with marine epoxy (being a salt water boat owner I know anything marine grade will stand the test of time). This material matched my existing siding but is much more resilient to the harsh New England weather. Another product they convinced me to consider for exterior trim was a green product made of wood pulp and insect ash. Boral is dimensionally stable through wide temperature changes, insect and water resistant, and takes paint real well. I researched both products and decided to go with the recommendations. My farmers porch has PVC railings but all the trim is Boral - I don't have to worry about the trim boards shrinking and expanding. Liberty Hill truly has a great understanding of existing and emerging products and bring this understanding to their customers. Another example of how Liberty Hill is customer focused but also in tune with new product technologies.
On to construction. First off Liberty Hill has a long standing relationship with top-notch sub-contractors that they use on every project. Each of the sub-contractors exceeded my expectations. Liberty Hill also enforces a code of conduct for the subs. They communicate and proactively remediate any violations to their code of conduct. They also worked me to understand where they can place dumpsters and material to help minimize construction footprint and damage to the property. A portable toilet was also located on site for the subs. To keep the construction running smoothly and stress free Liberty Hill oversees the project daily with a field team. This consisted of a project manager (Mike Murphy) and a couple of their carpenters (Brad Desjardins and Marc Meyers). These guys were great. Mike was on site every day to ensure everything was progressing and to remediate any issues that would arise - including field related construction issues and material orders. Mike was my primary point of contact every day. He would send me updates throughout the week - directly to my smart phone (text or call) - and provided a weekly progress report through BuilderTrend - the project management software. The communication through BuilderTrend goes to the entire team - so everyone is well aligned. I really appreciated this. Another thing Mike did was a weekly walkthrough. Sometimes this was more frequent or ad hoc based on something that he knew was concerning me. Mike had a tough job because he had to deal with me every day (Have I mentioned that I am demanding?). I have much respect for Mike as he was always objective, professional, and never placed blame. I also appreciated, much like the other members of the team, that he proactively communicated and swiftly resolved unexpected issues. I appreciated this because over my years If you wanted something done right you have to do it yourself. Mike took this stress away. Lastly I want to mention that the field carpenters were great. They were on site every day keeping an eye on the subs and performing the more detailed work - primarily the farmers porch, stairs, railings, doors, etc. Brad and Marc were always enjoyable and respectful.
As we closed down the project Mike and Pete ensured we resolved and signed off on all town code inspections and the took care of all remaining issues on my punch list. Along the way there were some minor tweaks and negotiations but those were dealt with in real time and quickly. My experience with Liberty Hill has been extremely positive. They always say a team is a group of people who work on a common mission that trust each other. Liberty Hill is a TEAM which includes their client.
This team is top-notch. Do yourself a favor - just hire them - they will take the stress away.
22 Comments